No Limits
by Gedaemon
Summary: In the aftermath of the Cell games, Kuririn and Tenshinhan discuss if there is a place for human fighters. chapter 3: Kuririn was unimpressed with the fighters he saw, but he had to admit the numbers of martial artists and fans was impressive.
1. Chapter 1

Breaking the Wall: A Dragon Ball Fan fiction

Ch. 01: Smash through the barrier! Tenshinhan's daring challenge!

"We have to do something!"

It started on a quiet day at Kame House. The sun shined, the waves beat off the beach, and Master Roshi had gone into town with Oolong to pick up some food and girly magazines. On days like this Kuririn liked to train or relax. He had intended to relax since he had spent much of the last several years training and fighting for his life, not always successfully mind you, but it turned out it was not to be.

"I don't know Tenshinhan, there doesn't seem much we can do," Kuririn said skeptically. "I mean you were there too, Cell was impossibly powerful and now Gohan is even stronger. Heck even Piccolo is stronger than Freeza now, and you remember what a monster that guy was."

"But that's the problem!" Tenshinhan exclaimed, thumping his fist on the table. "We've fallen behind. It wasn't long ago that we were only a step behind Goku."

"That's Saiyan biology for you," Kuririn remarked, a little depressed at the thought. "Not only can they transform, they can just take more abuse than we can. It's not fair but what are you going to do?"

"Think about the martial artist we used to fight in the old days," Tenshinhan said. "If they could see how strong you are now, wouldn't they think it impossible to achieve?"

"Yeah . . . Ok I see you point, and maybe if we trained really hard we could catch up to Gohan or Vegeta in their base form, but more than that? We already know how to use ki; we already train the best we can, what else is there?" Kuririn asked.

"I have some thoughts on that. . ." Tenshinhan began, "I remember that Kami once said the lookout has a library containing many ancient martial arts scrolls. It's a longshot but we might be able to find knowledge there to take our training to the next level."

"What about Yamcha and Chaotsu?" Kuririn asked.

Tenshinhan shook his head. "Yamcha is thinking of giving up the art and focusing on baseball. Chaotsu still helps me train but he's fallen behind and says he can't keep up with me".

Kuririn leaned back in thought. Truthfully he had been thinking of giving up martial arts too, or at least stepping back. It was one thing to keep the level he was at, but to try reaching the level of Vegeta or even Piccolo seemed useless.

He was also starting to see someone. During the fight with Cell he had met Eighteen, and despite the age difference they seemed to hit it off. He had seen her a few times since then and even gone out with her once. He didn't want to shelf that relationship.

"We can't just fall behind," Tenshinhan said, urging him. "We might have all these aliens and hybrids to defend the earth now, but what happens in a hundred years? Humanity needs the skills to defend itself, and that falls to us."

"I don't know," Kuririn began. "I'll have to think about it."

* * *

"You should do it," Eighteen said from across the table to a flabbergasted Kuririn.

This was their second date and he had mentioned Tenshinhan's visit in passing, he expected to laugh it off with her but Eighteen had different ideas.

"Whaa . . ." Kuririn was at a loss for words. "But why?"

"Right now you're pretty weak," Eighteen said in a blunt manner.

"Gee thanks," Kuririn said.

She smiled "Don't get me wrong, I'm not going out with you for your strength, but you could stand to be a little stronger," Eighteen said.

"Well sure, I guess. But even if Tenshinan's ideas work out it's probably going to take a long time and we just started dating . . ." He trailed off.

Eighteen snorted. "Please, you'll just be at that lookout right? I can come find you whenever I get bored."

"Whenever you get . . . bored?" Kuririn asked.

Eighteen smiled.

Kuririn suddenly felt hot under his collar. "W-well if you think it's a good idea then I'll put it under consideration." He stammered.

* * *

A few days later Kuririn found himself standing next to Tenshinhan in his turtle gi as the triclops explained his idea to Dende and Mr. Popo.

"Impossible," Popo said. "Those texts are only for the kami of Earth."

"Let's not be hasty, Mr. Popo." Dende said. "After all, I'm not much of a fighter so there isn't much I can do with the texts on martial arts. If they want to use that knowledge to defend Earth I don't see the problem with it."

Mr. Popo frowned. "Piccolo won't be happy if he finds out."

Dende seemed to jump a little at that.

"WE-well I mean, Piccolo doesn't have to know . . . does he?" Dende asked, laughing nervously.

"Hehe, don't worry Dende, we've got your back." Kuririn reassured the young god.

Dende smiled "Thanks. Kuririn, yeah just be discreet, and tell me about anything you find." Dende turned to Mr. Popo. "Mr. Popo, could you please show them to the library?"

Mr. Popo, who seemed unhappy with this, gestured for them to follow anyway. "Follow me," he said in his monotone voice.

Popo led Kuririn and Tenshinhan deep into the lookout, down several flights of stairs to a section of the lookout that seemed barely used. Eventually they came upon a vault door which Popo unlocked and opened to reveal a room stacked full of books and scrolls.

"This is the sealed library," Popo explained. "It contains the most powerful books on martial arts and magic compiled over the Earth's history."

"Wow, I had no idea the Lookout had a place like this," Kuririn said, impressed. "It puts the library at the Orin temple to shame."

"There is an incomplete index on the pedestal." Popo pointed to a small stand with a handwritten book. "Please lock up when you are done."

The genie left them to their work without saying another word.

"Well, I guess we better get started," Tenshinhan said, feeling somewhat overwhelmed.

"Yeah . . ." Kuririn agreed not looking forward to doing the first "homework" he had done in years.

* * *

Kami's library was vast, and many of the documents were written in languages neither Kuririn nor Tenshinhan could read. Never the less they uncovered many interesting document filled with martial arts techniques and related magic.

There were ki attacks, martial arts kata, magic to incrementally increase power, some of which had horrible side effects best avoided, but there were no easy answers.

"We've been at this for a week," Kuririn complained.

"It was never going to be easy," Tenshinhan said, though he was also tired. Their search thus far had produced some interesting information but nothing in terms of results.

Tenshinhan supposed it made sense. As far as they knew no one in Earth's history had ever been stronger than they were right now, even among the Kami. It made sense then that they already knew more about ways to get stronger than anyone before them.

"Say, Tenshinhan. You trained with Kaiosama right?" Kuririn asked.

Tenshinhan nodded. "Yeah for a few months before I was brought back."

"Did you ever learn the Kaioken while you were there?" Kuririn said hopefully. Kuririn had seen it in action several times, and always been impressed.

Tenshinhan nodded again. "But it wasn't the magic bullet you might think. It's just too hard on the body, I can barely use it."

Back on Namek Goku was able to use Kaioken times twenty for a while, his base back then was about where we are." Kuririn argued.

"It's not just your strength," Tenshinhan began to explain. "It's your ki control, and endurance, and your natural compatibility with the technique, I was never able to go past times five and that pretty much fried my body."

Kuririn was disappointed. While Kaioken couldn't match the power of a super Saiyan it could boost ones power several times.

Of course he also knew the dangers, Goku had explained that if you messed up it would quickly destroy the user's body. It required perfect ki control to pull off. . .

"Ki control." Kuririn said suddenly.

Tenshinhan's interest was perked. "What was that Kuririn?"

"Ki control, most of the stuff worth reading in all these has involved ki control," Kuririn explained.

Tenshinhan nodded. "It's nothing we didn't know but yeah."

Both the Crane style and the Turtle style taught that it wasn't physical strength but ki control that let a martial artist surpass normal human limits. It was something Kuririn and Tenshinhan had both mastered before they even came of age.

"Yeah, the Kaioken, your Kikoho, even the Kamehameha relay on some form of ki control and amplification." Kuririn said.

"The Kikoho also involves your life force but yeah that's right. They all take your ki, focus it and temporarily amplify it, but as a result you're exhausted afterwards." Tenshinhan said. This was old territory. Whenever he wanted to create a new technique it usually went back to those basics.

"Right," Kuririn began, "but what if we weren't"

"What?" Tenshinhan asked.

"Well, like what if we got used to it?"

"Got used to it?" Tenshinhan asked bemusedly

"You know, kinda like what Goku did. Super Saiyan was super draining on him, so he and Gohan just sat around in Super Saiyan until their bodies got used to it. Maybe we could rework the Kaioken like that."

For a moment Tenshinhan was stunned, but then he started thinking of reasons why that wouldn't work.

"Kuririn, Kaioken isn't like Super Saiyan, it's a technique, not a transformation," Tenshinhan explained.

"But they both drain stamina right?" Kuririn asked. "Look I'm not saying it's the same, but maybe we could use the concept you know? Get used to amplifying our ki and learn to control large amounts without straining our bodies."

Tenshinhan sat down. Kuririn's idea had some merit, but it was a long shot. Then again, digging through piles of ancient scrolls wasn't getting them anywhere.

"Well. It's worth a shot." Tenshinhan finally conceded. "But it will take some time to work out,"

"Why not use the room of spirit and time?" Kuririn suggested.

"That will save time on the outside but it won't change things for us." Tenshinhan pointed out.

Kuririn stroked the back of his head. "Truth be told, I kinda want to get back to my girlfriend."

Tenshinhan rolled his eyes. Kuririn inexplicable feelings for android Eighteen had nearly destroyed the Earth, and now it was influencing his training decisions.

"Fine," Tenshinhan conceded. "We'll do it your way, but you better not object to the conditions in there.

"Hey, just cause I try to lead a normal life doesn't mean I'm not a martial artist," Kuririn objected.

"As long as you're ready to work your ass off, fine." Tenshinhan said. "We'll ask to use the time chamber.

* * *

"You really think this will work?" Dende asked.

"I don't know but it's worth a shot," Tenshinhan explained. "We'll never know unless we try and if we don't succeed we'll never be able to fight alongside Gohan and the others."

Dende nodded. He also doubted whether it was wise to leave Earth's safety in the hands of such a small number of people.

Mr. Popo emerged from Kami's palace. "The room of spirit and time is ready, please follow me."

Kuririn, Tenshinhan and Dende followed Popo back to the door of the room of spirit and time. Behind that door not only did time flow over three hundred and sixty five times faster, but the gravity was at least ten times that of Earth and the weather conditions were enough to kill.

"You may only stay in the in the room of spirit of time for two years before the door disappears," the genie explained, "But there is only enough food to last two people for one year so please keep this in mind."

Tenshinhan and Kuririn nodded and Kuririn turned to Dende. "Thanks again for your help Dende, I don't know if we would have managed without you."

Dende waved him off with both hands. "Please, I hardly did anything. It's you and Tenshinhan who are doing the work. Good luck on with your training."

"Thanks," Tenshinhan said. "Let's go Kuririn, we better get started."

"Right." Kuririn nodded as both them walked into the broad doorway of the room of spirit and time.

* * *

Ch. 01 end

* * *

Author's note:

I've always wished the humans stayed relevant in dragon ball, but after the Freeza saga they mostly become hangers on, just commenting on things while the aliens do all the work. So this fic is my attempt at wish fulfillment.

Apologies to cannon.

That isn't to say the story focuses only on the humans or that they will necessarily surpass the Saiyan, but we'll see

I have a good deal of this story already typed up in rough draft form, so expect regular updates at least for a while. In the meantime please leave me a review and let me know what you think.

-Gedaemon

12/2/17 changed story and chapter title


	2. Chapter 2

_One day later_

It was another idyllic day at Mt. Poazu, where the resident demi-Saiyan was fishing.

Now fishing, for members of the Son family, involved swimming in a lake of giant, man-eating fish and beating them up.

One by one, about a half dozen massive fish burst out of the water and landed on the shore. After them followed a ten year old boy.

"Alright, that should take care of dinner," Gohan said, satisfied with his effort.

Things had been complicated since his father died and decided to stay in the afterlife for the sake of the planet. The biggest complication had been the discovery of his mother's pregnancy. Initially both Chichi and Gohan had been horribly depressed over his father's passing, but soon attention turned to preparing for the new life on its way. So, when Gohan wasn't busy studying, he focused on doing household chores and helping his mother.

The boy was halfway back to his house with his catch when he felt two familiar power levels coming towards him.

"Hmm? Wonder what they're doing out here?" Gohan asked himself as he hurriedly ran back to his house to drop off the fish before leaving to meet with the two fighters in private. They might just have been stopping to visit but then again, there might be trouble and Gohan didn't want to put his mom under any more stress.

In the distance, Gohan saw the two human figures flying at him at high speed. Gohan jumped up and flew out to meet them.

"Kuririn! Tenshinhan!" Gohan called out, waving at the two fighters.

"Gohan!" Kuririn called out, waving back.

The three met up several miles and thousands of feet above the Son house.

"It's been awhile guys!" Gohan said, greeting them

"It sure has! How ya been Gohan?" Kuririn asked in a friendly manner.

"Pretty good, it's been busy though," Gohan said.

"It's good to see you Gohan, have you been keeping up on your training?" Tenshinhan asked, serious as always.

Gohan massaged the back of his head. "Afraid not, like I said it's been pretty busy. Mom found out she's pregnant so I've been doing a lot of the house work."

"Pregnant?! Chichi!?" Kuririn exclaimed. "You mean . . .?"

"Yeah . . . probably right before the cell games," Gohan said, blushing. Gohan had read enough about biology to understand perfectly what had happened, He just didn't like thinking about it.

"Jeez," Kuririn said, flabbergasted. "I guess I should pop in and give my regards. . ." He said, not sounding like he wanted to face a pregnant Chichi. Gohan couldn't blame him.

"Gohan," Tenshinhan began, still serious. "The reason we came today is to test the fruits of our training."

Now that caught Gohan's attention. Gohan tried to feel for their ki but both the fighters were suppressing it to an amazing degree considering they were flying.

"You want to spar? Sure, but why me?" Gohan asked.

"Are you kidding!? You're the strongest guy on this planet, maybe even the universe!" Kuririn said; gushing. "Besides I don't really want to test my luck sparring with Piccolo or Vegeta if you know what I mean."

Gohan laughed. "Mr. Piccolo might be a little intense but he wouldn't cripple you in a sparring match."

"Well, I guess you would know," Kuririn remarked. Gohan knew Piccolo better than anyone else on Earth.

"Well if it will help I guess, but let's take it away from the house. I don't want to disturb mom." Gohan said. More than that, he didn't want her to know he was out sparring with his father's friends.

Gohan lead Kuririn and Tenshinhan into the mountains in the north east where no one lived. they could fight there without disturbing anyone.

"How's this?" Gohan asked, looking over the mountain range.

"Perfect!" Kuririn

"Gohan," Tenshinhan began, "We need to test the fruits of our training against overwhelming strength. Please show us the power you used to fight Cell."

Gohan blinked; surprised. "Tenshinhan, I can hardly control that form. I haven't even tried since the Cell games."

"Please Gohan," Tenshinhan asked.

"Don't worry Gohan; we've been training really hard," Kuririn said, though Gohan thought he heard some nervousness.

"Well, alright . . ." Gohan said. He clinched his arms and started to concentrate. His power rose rapidly. In an instant he was a super Saiyan. The air vibrated as he pushed past the initial state to its maximum. Gohan clinched harder, he struggled to push passed the last barrier. He concentrated on his rage and feelings of loss. Finally, after what seemed like forever, his aura exploded around him and his form jumped with electricity.

"Wow," Kuririn said, sucking in a breath.

Gohan took a deep breath. The form was still hard on him. There was a rage, and the energy was still too much for him, but the power couldn't be beat.

Tenshinhan nodded to the young demi-Saiyan, and took a stance. "Kuririn, you ready?"

Kuririn took a matching stance. "Here goes nothing."

The two human clenched and begin powering up. Gohan was surprised when their power shot up several times higher than it had been at the Cell Games. But what was really surprising was the very slight red aura they both projected.

"Kaioken?" He asked, mostly to himself. It looked a little like Kaioken, but was much more subdued. If Kaioken was like a super nova than this was like a very small star.

"Are you ready Gohan?" Tenshinhan asked, looking him square in the eye.

Gohan nodded. Their power was really high, but it was still far below a super Saiyan. As long as his guard was up their bows wouldn't even hurt.

The three stood off for a few seconds before both Tenshinhan and Kuririn disappeared

Gohan's eyes widened and he turned around to block a blow, careful not to break Tenshinhan's arm in the process. But it was his arm that gave way.

"Wha?!" Gohan asked before a kick sent him flying into the ground, sending rock and earth flying into the air.

Slowly Gohan dug himself out of the mountain side. Now his clothes were all dirty. It would suck explaining that to his mom. But more importantly; "for a moment, he was as strong as a super Saiyan . . ."

Gohan looked up at Tenshinhan. The three eyed warrior looked neither exhausted nor worse for wear. Gohan was confused, for a normal human to exert that kind of power they would have to burn through their ki or tap into their life force.

Suddenly Gohan's attention was diverted to his right where Kuririn rushed in with a flurry of punches and kicks. His power was also massive, forcing Gohan temporarily on the defensive. Blocking with his legs and right hand, he drew back his left and formed a small ki blast which blew the former monk away.

"Jeez", what kind of training did you two go through?" Gohan asked before turning and repelling Tenshinhan.

After a quick exchange of strikes, Gohan drove Tenshinhan away with a kick. He was certain now. Both of them were coming in with quick bursts equal to that of a super Saiyan. In terms of power that was about half of what he could bring, and there were two of them, if he wasn't carful he could actually lose!

Gohan rose back up above the mountains. He could only keep his 2nd form for so long before it exhausted him.

"Alright guys! I'm going to go all out! Watch yourselves!"

Gohan pushed his power to its absolute max; surprisingly it was still somewhat beneath what it was during the Cell games. Gohan started to worry.

Kuririn and Tenshinhan joined back up. "You feel that Kuririn?"

Kuririn was sweating, not from exertion but from Gohan's overwhelming power. "How could I not?"

"There's no way we could last long in a melee against this," Tenshinhan observed.

"Speed and distance then?" Kuririn asked.

Tenshinhan nodded. "We'll have to go all out."

"Heh, I'm already doing that. That power of his will shatter your bones if you let your ki drop," Kuririn said, chagrined.

"Win or lose, we've gotten what we came for." Tenshinhan said.

Kuririn nodded. They had proved their method. In less than a year they had reached a level where they could challenge a super Saiyan, and almost half of that was spent refining their concepts.

Gohan finished powering up, and then seemingly vanished as he rushed the two human warriors. Kuririn and Tenshinhan both went full power in order to dodge the young Super Saiyan.

At once both humans began lobbing ki balls at the preteen, each one packed an incredible amount of power, but the demi-Saiyan just flew about, batting them aside.

Kuririn broke off his attack, flew upwards and began charging the turtle schools signature technique.

"KAMEEEEEE, HAMEEEEEEEE," Kuririn focused on the energy ball, causing the attack's core to pulse. The blue ki ball turned red and flared up. "HAAAAAAAA!"

The red ball of Ki sped towards Gohan, who was still battling away lighter ki attacks. Gohan turned towards the Kamehameha in alarm. Quickly, he sped away, dodging Tenshinhan's ki blasts as he flew. Kuririn compensated, adjusting the attack's course to keep it on target, and Gohan couldn't get out of the way in time.

"Masenko-HA!" the demi-Saiyan crossed his arms and unleashed an attack of his own. The two forces collided. The Kamehameha was seemingly stronger and pushed through the Masenko, but the beam struggle moved Gohan out of the way and the ki attack missed him.

"SHINKIKOHO!" Tenshinhan extended his arm and unleashed his signature attack, adding a small amount of his life force to his amplify his ki, he instantly unleased an attack even stronger than the Kamehameha. His attention still on the previous beam struggle, the lightning fast attack hit Gohan head on.

Kuririn felt Gohan's power drop, but not as far as he hoped given the hit he had just taken. "That hit would have killed me, but he just shrugs it off. . ."

A kick from behind sent Kuririn straight into the ground. Tenshinhan turned only to see Gohan coming straight at him. Using his full power and both arms he blocked Gohan's first blow, he went to parry the second but it turned into an after image. Turning, he blocked a kick just like the one that took out Kuririn, The hit shook his whole body and he surmised it would leave a huge bruise on his arm. Gohan back pedaled a short distance and raised one arm,

"Masenko. . . HA!"

Tenshinhan dodged to one side, He tied to block the follow up kick but it penetrated his guard and sent him hurdling to the mountain below.

Tenshinhan managed to land with only minor damage to the land. Unlike Kuririn his power had been raised when he took Gohan's hit. Kuririn, for his part was currently digging himself out of a twenty foot crater.

Gohan landed near Kuririn's hole. "You OK?"

"Did you get the number of that bus?" The ex-monk asked as he finally pulled himself out. "Well, I don't think anything is broken. . ."

"That was impressive Gohan." Tenshinhan said as he landed nearby.

"Gee, thanks. But you two were amazing, you're nothing like you were back during the Cell games!" Gohan bushed. Personally, he realized how out of shape he was compared to a few months before. "Was that the Kaioken you were using?"

"Not exactly," Tenshinhan explained. "It's a new method we developed based on the Kaioken. Instead of using it as a battle technique, we're using it as a training method."

"A training method?" Gohan asked curiously.

"Yeah! We use it at a real low level over an extended period," Kuririn said, chiming in, "over time we get used to controlling the amplified ki"

"Kinda like the training dad and I did with Super Saiyan," Gohan said

"That's where we got the idea!" Kuririn said, nodding. "Well, that and Kami's library, but it was mostly Kaioken and your dad's ideas."

"It still has some drawbacks though," Tenshinhan admitted. "It doesn't really strengthen our bodies; it just gets us use to controlling and generating large amounts of ki."

"Still! That's awesome!" Gohan said. "I hate to admit it, but I didn't think humans could get that powerful."

"Hehe, don't underestimate us!" Kuririn bragged.

"There's still a lot of work to do. We've only developed the basics. I won't be satisfied until I surpass you Gohan." Tenshinhan said.

"Heheh," Gohan laughed nervously. "I'm still growing you know, don't think I'll stay at this level!"

"I look forward to it," Tenshinhan nodded. "I suppose I should pay my respects to your mother before I leave."

Gohan winced. "I supposed that would be polite . . ."

Kuririn gulped.

* * *

In the distance, a green figure hid himself and listened to the conversation.

Piccolo smirked. "So that's how they did it," He said. "Looks like I owe Dende a little visit."

* * *

Chapter 2 end

* * *

Author's notes:

So there is the second chapter. A few things worth mentioning: I am not using the more localized spellings and instead opt to use the more accurate ones. I know many people are very used to the "Krillin" spelling but I don't like it.

I would also like to remind people that the power scaling has never been . . . terribly consistent in Dragon Ball, so while I am keeping cannon in mind, that doesn't mean everyone will like how I do it. Just go with it.

I would also like to thank everyone who left a review. It really helps to know what people think of my work.

Thanks,

Gedaemon

update 2/10/18 fixed Gohan's age to be closer to cannon. He is 9, physically 10 at this point


	3. Chapter 3

"Now Piccolo don't be mad. . ." Dende said, with his hands up.

Piccolo snorted at the young Namekian; so inexperienced.

"The last Kami would have been furious . . . I'm not mad. You're kami now, it's up to you to decide how the library is used." Piccolo said. "But I hope you understand the ramifications."

"Ramifications?" Dende asked hesitantly.

"Tenshinhan and Kuririn will never misuse their powers," Piccolo explained. "But imagine if their training methods are passed down; imagine a world where hundreds of people have that kind of power."

Dende stopped and thought about this. It wouldn't take much for someone with that kind of power to wipe out life on Earth.

"Yeah . . . I see what you mean." the young god said. "I just thought Earth could use more defenders, after all with my power I can only clean up afterwards; I can't really do any of the fighting."

"As long as you understand." Piccolo said, nodding. "Besides, there might come a day when Earth needs a hundred warriors with that kind of power. Those are the kind of calls you'll have to make from now on."

Dende gulped. "Yes sir."

Piccolo nodded, then looked behand him to the edge of a lookout. "Gohan's coming."

"Gohan?" Dende asked. "That's strange, he usually only visits on weekends."

The two Namekians watched as the small Demi-saiyan quickly came into view on the horizon.

"Hey Dende, Mr. Piccolo," Gohan called out, waving as he landed.

"Gohan! What are you doing up here?" Dende asked, running over to his friend.

Gohan rubbed the back of his head, mashing his black hair. "Actually I was looking for Mr. Piccolo."

His interest peeked, Piccolo quirked an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"I was actually wondering if you could train me a bit. . ." Gohan asked hesitantly.

Piccolo smirked a little. "I was wondering when you would wake up."

"Well I had a sparring match with Kuririn and Tenshinhan the other day, and I realized how rusty I was getting." Gohan said; embarrassed. "Dad left defending the planet to me, so I have to at least keep my skills up."

The older Namekian nodded. "Good, I need to start training again myself," He smiled. "The truth is I saw your little fight. I have to reevaluate my own training as well. Clearly I'm not progressing as fast as I should."

"I still have to keep studying, but mom agreed to let me train in the morning and on weekends."

Piccolo did a double take. "That's . . . somewhat surprising."

Gohan lowered his head. "Yeah . . . But I think she understands how important it is, even if she doesn't like it."

Piccolo and Dende nodded. Chichi hated her son fighting, but she wasn't stupid.

"Good," Piccolo said, smacking his right hand with his fist. "We can start tomorrow."

Gohan beamed. "Thanks Mr. Piccolo!"

"Don't thank me yet," Piccolo warned, smiling. "For all your power you still have plenty of bad habits we need to break you of."

* * *

 _One year later_

Kuririn was unimpressed with the fighters he saw, but he had to admit the numbers of martial artists and fans was impressive.

The Satan City Classic, previously called The Orange City Classic, was one of the four most important martial arts competitions on the planet, apparently. Roshi had always said any competition besides the Tenka Ichi Budokai was below the level of the Turtle Style, and it would be unfair for them to enter. But things had changed since then. Now even the Tenka Ichi Budokai was woefully below his level, and besides he wasn't here to win, but to make a statement.

Like most of his friends Kuririn was outraged when Mr. Satan took credit for Gohan's victory over Cell. But Gohan made it clear he was not interest in fame or fortune so they let the matter drop. However it was one thing to allow the fake to take credit for a victory he didn't earn, but another to let the martial arts fall into disrepute. People needed to know that there were better ways to train.

He had shared his thoughts with Tenshinhan, but the triclops preferred to train in solitude, and had no interest in the public promotion of the art. But Kuririn felt it was important for young martial artist to know there was a different way.

And so Kuririn had entered the Satan city classic with its 3 million Zeny prize. The finals of the tournament were televised, unlike the old Tenka Ichi Budokai fights, of which only grainy tapes still existed in a few libraries. Even better, Mr. Satan; the current title holder, was expected to be there to defend his title.

Kuririn walked among the fighters. Most were not even comparable to the people in the prelims at the old Tenka Ichi Budokai, but he supposed they were impressive compared to the average man on the street. The rules weren't as liberal as the other tournament, but they still allowed most techniques. You could get seriously hurt if you weren't prepared.

"Hey look at this little shrimp!" A large blond body builder with a "Satan" muscle shirt pointed at him.

"You here to enter the junior division?" the blonde said, laughing.

Kuririn was not amused. "You wish I was fighting in the junior division pretty boy."

The man stopped laughing. "You better watch yourself. I doubt a little guy like you will pass the strength test, but there are plenty of people here who won't take lip from an amateur."

Kuririn rolled his eyes. He had probably seen more fights by the time he was fourteen than this guy had seen in his whole life. "You ever heard of the turtle school?" he asked.

"Never heard of it." the big guy said.

"I didn't think so," Kuririn said, walking past the muscle bound idiot.

Instead of preliminary fights everyone was expected to test their strength on a punching machine. Only the top ten got to move on to the finals. Kuririn thought it was pretty silly to judge a fighter based only on striking power, but at the very least it simplified thing for him. Holding back as much as he could he scored a 95, right below what Satan scored, surprising everyone.

He was soon assigned to slot 9 of 10. This meant he would face Mr. Satan in the final, assuming they both won their matches. But before that was a junior division. Apparently this was always the norm outside the Budokai, as people didn't think it was appropriate for a kid to go against an adult. Kuririn sympathized but if a kid has the abilities . . .

The kids he saw fight did not have the abilities. They were weak, they had no polish, they didn't move right. Perhaps he was being unfair based on his own youth but none of these kids were ready for a tournament.

However there was one kid who impressed him, not with her strength or ability, though she clearly outclassed the other children in those categories as well, but with her spirit. It was clear she trained and fought with everything she had.

"And that's it!" The announcer called out, "Videl wins the junior division!" The crowd erupted.

Kuririn nodded. The right person definitely won.

"Do you have anything to say Miss Videl?" the announcer asked.

As the young girl began to speak Mr. Satan suddenly rushed the stage, grabbed the Mike, and hoisted Videl up on his shoulder.

"My Videl is the strongest kid there is!" the champion bellowed loudly. "She's going to be something someday I tell ya!"

Kuririn faced faulted. "She's Mister Satan's kid?" He asked himself. Kurririn failed to see the resemblance, in either spirit or looks. "Must take after her mother," he said; speculating.

"And if you thought that was impressive, wait till you see the champ! YEEEAAAHHHH!" Mr. Satan bellowed, holding the mike and his shell shocked daughter above his head.

"I'm going to enjoy this too much," Kuririn muttered. That guy needed to be taken down a peg.

"And now it's time to begin the adult tournament!" the announcer said, having reclaimed his mike. And our hero, Mr. Satan is the first up, facing his longtime nemesis, Sopovich!"

So, after watching a number of underwhelming matches it was finally Kuririn's turn. Kuririn walked up onto the padded fighting ring in the center of the indoor arena. He still couldn't believe how big the crowd was. It was like a major sporting event.

"I can't believe you made it through the preliminaries!" The jerk he had met in the prelims said. Apparently he had made it through the strength test as well.

"It's like poetry . . ." Kuririn said to himself.

"Contestant Kuririn, contestant Shaver, are you ready to begin?" The announcer asked.

"Let's just get this over with," Kuririn said with a sigh. These fights were a chore for him, but least he would bet paid afterwards.

"It's your funeral, little man!" Shaver said with a grin.

"Begin!" the announcer cried, raising his arm into the air.

The large muscular man charged Kuririn, preparing to strike him. Kuririn stood there and slightly twisted, dodging the attack, then, using nothing but the momentum he generated, he extended arm and pushed on the bigger fighter.

Shaver went flying to the right, finally falling and rolling off the side of the arena.

The crowd and the announcer fell silent, flabbergasted at what they had seen. Kuririn silently raised his hand, making the sign for victory.

The announcer was the first to recover. "Contestant Kuririn is the winner!" he said, as the audience started to politely applaud, or boo if they were fans of the Satan dojo stable.

Kuririn walked of the stage. "Geese I put too much power into that one" He thought to himself "I don't want people thinking my victories were flukes."

So for the next several matches Kuririn was sure to put on a show before delivering a clean knock out or ring out.

While many had dismissed the first victory as a fluke, by the third they were convinced of his skill. A few even started cheering for him; apparently they were taken with his "underdog" status.

So finally the matches wound down until only the final round was left. To Kuririn the only question was whether Mr. Satan would get a stomach ache or not.

"And now the match you've been waiting for ladies and gentlemen! The come from behind surprise of the tournament: Kuririn will face our own returning champion, Mr. Satan for the title!"

At the announcers words the crowd went wild, particularly for Mr. Satan.

"Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan!" The audience cheered as their hero, the Martial Arts champion of the world, Mr. Satan took to the ring. The man wore a majestic white cape which he slowly took off and handed to a supermodel who walked him up. He then began flexing for the audience

"Yeah! Are you ready for a championship fight!" Hew goaded at crowd who responded.

"Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan! Satan!"

"Yeah!" the man took his time reveling in the crowd's adoration before finally turning to face Kuririn.

"I admit you're a pretty good fighter, but your about to face the strongest man in the world!"

Kuririn sighed. This man was exhausting to deal with. But people really respected Mr. Satan, so he would have to put on a real convincing show if he didn't want people to dismiss his power.

"I guess I'll have to really give it my all against you." Kuririn said with bravado. Indeed, he would have to work really hard not to maim the man.

"Haha! I like your spirit. Show me what you've got little man!" Satan yelled, taking a stance.

Mr. Satan didn't even seem to recognize him. Granted he probably didn't make the best impression at the cell games, but it's not like there were many people there.

Kuririn took his stance, a standard o the turtle style.

"Begin!" the announcer called.

Both fighters rushed at each other, exchanging kicks and punches. Of course Kuririn was sure to stop all his strikes before they made contact. The two walked each other back and forth across the ring. before Kuririn finally broke the exchange with a little bit of kiai.

Satan stumbled back. "Wha- what happened?" Satan asked, not clear how he was knocked back.

"Your pretty good," Kuririn said, hoping from one foot to the other. It was true, for a normal human, Mr. Satan was at a level they would never surpass without training under a ki user. Kuririn was actually somewhat impressed he had reached that level without proper instruction.

"But can you do this?" Kuririn raised himself about a foot off the ground.

"Tha- that's a trick!" Satan pointed and yelled.

Kuririn smirked. "Oh Yeah? prove it!"

Provoked, the champ charged him and they kept exchanging strikes. At least twice Satan tried to hit his wires but there was nothing there.

I'm afraid," Kuririn began, still pulling his blows. "It's not a trick!" this time he released a little ki power with his punch, sending the champ flying back to the very edge of the ring.

The audience gasped. They never expected to see their hero pressed so hard. A few were calling for Kuririn to be disqualified for cheating, but many others were getting into the show.

"Why you!" Mr. Satan said, nursing a bruise. "I was holding back! But now get ready to face my full power!"

The audience gasped at the declaration

"Whatever," Kurririn said, unimpressed.

Satan rushed in, going harder and faster than before. He delivered a flurry of strikes which Kurririn failed to block, and then he brought his leg up.

"Dynamite kick!" the champ screamed, letting lose a powerful kick which hit Kuririn square in the head.

"Is that all?" Kuririn asked, completely unaffected. On the contrary, Mr. Satan's foot hurt.

Mr. Satan was stunned.

"Guess it's my turn now, Kuririn let lose an impressive looking aura. It was more show than substance but to someone who had never experienced ki it was very intimidating. He let loose his own series of attacks. None of them made contact, but the pressure of his ki kept pushing the champ back.

Kuririn drove the reigning champ to about three feet from the edge of the ring where he dropped his guard. The champ threw a jab at his face, but right as it made contact Kuririn faded away.

"That's called an after image." Kuririn explained from behind to the stunned champ. Kuririn raised his hand so the crowd could see, and flicked Mr. Satan in the base of his neck, avoiding the spine.

Satan dropped to the floor. The room froze, gasping. For nearly fifteen seconds nothing happened until the announcer remembered his job. "The Champ's down! I'm beginning the count!" He said, though a ten count had certainly already passed.

"8, 9, 10! It's a knock out! Kuririn is the winner of the Satan City Classic!" He raised Kuririn fist up in the air.

The audience was silent. As thrilled as they were with the fight, they couldn't process the idea that their hero lost. Even those who thought Kuririn was a cheater seemed cowed by the unexpected turn of events.

"Do you have anything to say champ?" The announcer asked, handing the mic to Kuririn.

"Eh? Ahem," Kuririn began. Public speaking wasn't really his thing. "I just want to say I didn't win because of any talent on my part, but some great teachers and a lot of hard work. If you ever saw the old Budokai people did those things all the time. So . . . I guess I'm saying just find a good teacher who knows what they're talking about."

The audience mostly filled with Satan fans began to boo. The champ for his part remained knocked out; though Kuririn was reasonably sure he would wake up not much worse for wear.

"Err, thank you for your support!" Kuririn concluded, handing the microphone back to the announcer. It was probably best to leave before the angry crowd turned into a mob.

* * *

End Chapter 03

* * *

Third chapter done!

First off, I love Mr. Satan, but for this story he's kinda just in the way, so don't expect a flattering portrayal. Second, I always loved how in the Dragon Ball Online Universe Kuririn and Tenshinhan started their own styles. I also like focusing on Kuririn because I think he's more relatable than Tenshinhan. Same with Gohan, he is very relatable.

I also want to thank everyone who takes the time to review. It's a big help.

-Gedaemon


	4. Chapter 4

From the competitor's section an eleven year old girl watched the final match and ceremony. This Kuririn had come from nowhere, beaten one of her father's students and training partners and then humiliated the champ in a less than two minute match.

She was pissed off. Her father might not have been perfect, but he was a hero. He was the greatest fighter she had ever met. A strong man who protected the world from the greatest monster it had ever seen. Even when her mother left and the other women started showing up, she could at least hold her head high at all her father had accomplished. But now her father's legacy was in question. An unknown fighter, barely five feet tall and nearly three times lighter had beaten him.

Videl was furious, but she was also intrigued. Tricks aside, she had never seen a fighter move like that before. The speed, the power, the stamina, it was unbelievable. Even his tricks raised the hair on her neck and left her sweating more than any of her opponents did.

The man claimed what he did was nothing special, that with the right teacher anyone could do it. But she had never heard of anyone who could. But what if she could? Videl was a martial artist and a competitive one. She dreamed of being the best, but she always felt the best she could ever be was her father's successor. She would never surpass him-no one could-at least that was what she had thought. But what if she could? What if she could learn to fight like this Kuririn did?

* * *

"You put on a pretty amusing show." Eighteen commented.

After he won Eighteen had dragged him to the most expensive restaurant she could think of where he bought her dinner. Not that Kuririn minded.

"It was pretty hard to use ki like that without killing him." Kuririn said.

Eighteen nodded. "It would have been a real pity if you killed him and lost the prize money."

"Not exactly what I was thinking but I guess you're right." Kuririn said

Eighteen chewed a bite of her steak. "So, what are you going to do now?" she asked.

Kuririn looked up. "Keep training I guess. I mean, I'm still a long ways off from Piccolo or Vegeta."

"You think you can catch up with them?" She asked, still eating.

Kuririn brow furrowed. "Maybe, I really don't know what limits the new training method has."

"What about more tournaments?" Eighteen asked.

"I might go to the budokai; reach a larger audience. I hear the prizes have gotten super high as well."

"You should be more ambitious. You're practically a celebrity now, you know? "Eighteen asked.

"What?" Kuririn said, surprised.

"Haven't you seen the news? Everyone is talking about the champ's loss." Eighteen said.

"Really?" Kuririn asked. He could see how Mr. Satan losing would be big news, but he half expected them to dismiss it as a fluke despite the effort he put in.

"Obviously you don't watch enough TV. Martial arts have become a major sport and Mr. Satan was at the top. A lot of people are calling you a cheater but a few are talking about your history with the budokai."

"I guess I should have seen that coming." Kuririn said. "Good thing I don't live in the city."

"You could make a mint off this." Eighteen pointed out.

"As nice as that sounds, it was never about the money? I want people to know that real martial arts are out there." Kuririn said.

Eighteen rolled her eyes. "You're so sickeningly noble. . ." She sighed. "But I guess that's what I like about you." She said, giving him a smile.

Kuririn blushed. "Thanks' I guess."

Eighteen and Kuririn finished their meal and Kuririn paid the outrageous 15000 Zeni price tag.

"So, are we going back to your place?" Eighteen asked nonchalantly

"Well I was planning to-wait . . .I- err that is. . . " Kuririn stammered and blushed.

Eighteen smiled seductively. "Come on; let's see how fast you are now." She said, taking off.

"Hey! Wait up!" Kuririn yelled, straining to catch up with her.

* * *

 _One month later_

Kuririn was a happy man. He had a beautiful girlfriend, and for once he had more money than he needed to live.

Still, the focus of his life was training, and boy was it nice to train for personal fulfillment again rather than preparing to fight an existential threat.

Kuririn stood on the beach, a red aura surrounding him. It was his and Tenshinhan's modified version of the kaioken. It only slightly raised ones power, but it could be maintained over a long period of time. The trick was to keep generating ki and containing it, not letting any more escape than you had to in order to keep going.

The training required a lot of concentration, and you could hurt yourself if you weren't careful. But with time you got used to managing huge amounts of ki, and your body started to adapt to the kaioken. Kuririn had gotten to the point where he could do it for a few hours a day with breaks. If he had to rate himself, he would guess he could keep up with Goku when he first came back to Earth; at least in terms of power. Of course compared to someone like Vegeta or Gohan that level was a joke, but it was more than he ever thought he would achieve.

Slowly, Kuririn moved his ki from his body and into his hands. A blue ball started to form. With a thought he caused the energy ball's core to pulse. The blue ball turned red. Essentially he was performing the kaioken within the kamehameha.

Kuririn drew his arms back, preparing to fire the massive energy attack when he saw an approaching air car.

Taking a deep breath Kuririn forcibly dissipated the ki, which was actually almost has hard as firing it. "I wonder who could be coming to visit." Kuririn said to himself. It didn't look like one of Bulma's cars.

The air car made its way to the small island and landed on the shore. Looking at it, Kuririn saw the name "Satan" was featured prominently on the cars side. But to his surprise, it was not a large martial artist or a business representative who got out, but a teenage girl.

At this time Master Roshi walked out onto the porch. "Who's visiting?" The turtle hermit asked his student.

Kuririn racked his brain he had seen the girl somewhere; that was for sure. "Can I help you, young lady?" He asked, still racking his brain.

"My name is Videl." the Girl looked him straight in the eye.

"Videl? You mean Mr. Satan's daughter?" Kuririn finally remembered her from the tournament a month back. "Err what are you doing out here?"

"I came to ask, how did you beat my father?" The girl asked in a rather demanding way

"Oh, that." Kuririn said diverting his eyes. Great, he had to explain to a little girl how he beat up her dad. Kuririn looked back at her. "Well, honestly your father's pretty strong but he can't compare with the kind of training I've done."

"But he's the world champ! He beat Cell for God's sake! the news said you never placed past the semifinals of the tenka ichi budokai!"

"Jeeze they dug that up?" Kuririn said, scratching the back of his shaved head. "It's true I never placed past the semi-finals but have you seen the videos of those fights? It was a lot tougher back then, and besides I'm much stronger now."

Videl looked up at the man who beat her father. Not too far up, the man was barely taller than she was. And he was telling her that her father's championship didn't mean anything.

Videl had done a lot of research before seeking out the man who beat her father. Kuririn was part of an old style called the turtle school. Together with the crane school they had dominated the martial arts scene for over a hundred years. Only a few were ever trained each generation, but using various tricks the students of these schools had dominated the tenka ichi budokai up until the 23th When a man named Son Goku –an old training partner of Kuririn—had won against a man claiming to be the reincarnation Piccolo Daimao.

Honestly it sounded like some convoluted anime story.

"I have seen the videos, but everyone back then used tricks to win!" After she heard the man who beat her father fought in the previous budokai she had located a library with the old tapes, which wasn't easy since every martial arts enthusiast in the world was trying to figure out who this "Kuririn" was.

There had been lots of impressive fights in those old tapes, but everyone relied on tricks, Heck at one point there was a supposed "Magic cloud" and a giant ape monster; as if those existed.

"Well that's the thing," Kuririn said, waving his finger, "They're not tricks."

Videl stamped her foot. "Oh yeah? prove it!"

"Sure," The bald man said," come at me, throw whatever attacks you want. I'll just defend."

Videl was surprised. He'll only defend? Who did he think he was?

"Don't worry about it" Kuririn said. "After all, if I get hurt it just proves I'm all talk."

Videl took a stance. If he was that confident he had no one to blame but himself. Videl faked with her left and threw a punch with her right. The hit landed square on Kuririn temple. Normally that would be a knockout, even on the older guys at her dad's dojo.

"Wha-"Videl's jaw dropped. Kuririn was just standing there, unfazed. And her hand hurt.

"You shouldn't drop your guard after hitting someone," He said, offering some friendly advice.

"What are you made of?" Videl said, shaking her wrist out.

"Flesh and bone just like you," He replied. "Come on try again, I'll show you a few things this time."

He gestured for her to come.

Unsure, Videl took another stance this time she threw a kick, which Kuririn blocked, she followed up with a flurry of punches but he caught each one. Her final punch seemed to weave past his guard but at impact her fist continued through him and he disappeared

Videl was stunned, somehow he was now standing half a foot to the other side. Pulling back she threw a kick, again his image faded away and he was suddenly on her left.

"And that's an after image." Kuririn explained.

"That's what you did when you beat dad." Videl said. "But how?" As far as she could tell there were no mirrors.

"It's just moving faster than the eye can follow," Kuririn explained.

"But that's impossible," Videl blurted out.

"I just did it," Kuririn said. "Look at the ground."

Videl looked down and to her surprise there were indents form his footwork and bent grass in-between. It looked like he had been stomping the earth for a half hour but he had barely moved the whole time.

The old man who had been watching started moving towards Videl.

"Young lady, you have a good deal of potential, but there are ways of training and fighting that you haven't seen before. If you want to go further with your training you need to surpass your normal human limits."

Videl gave the old man a quizzical look.

"Ah, this is Muten Roshi, the founder of the turtle school." Kuririn explained.

"Wait," Videl said. She had read that name before. "Isn't the turtle school over a hundred years old?"

The old man started laughing. "And I' still as spry as ever! Though, Kuririn here surpassed me a while ago." he admitted, scratching his head.

Videl snorted. Of course Kuririn was stronger; this crazy old man looked like he was lucky he could still walk. And she definitely didn't believe he was an over a century old martial arts master.

"What about that hovering you did?" Videl asked.

"Oh that? I just support my body with ki, like this." the diminutive martial artist lifted off the ground and started hovering.

Videl was sure there was a trick to this. She had seen a magician on TV do something similar. She jumped up and kicked over his head. Nothing.

Next she swept under his feet; again there was nothing but air.

"Looking for wires?" Kuririn asked, smiling. "But where would I put the crane on this island?"

"But . . ." Videl was running out of logical objections. It seemed like this Kuririn could really do what he claimed to.

Kuririn rose further into the air and started flying around the island doing looks before landing in front of her.

Videl was stunned for a moment, but then recovered. "If you're so strong, where were you during the Cell games?"

Kuririn sighed before giving her a hard look. "I was _AT_ the Cell games. If you look at the old videos you'll see me on the sidelines. And the reason I didn't fight, well except for the bit at the end, was because Cell was much much much stronger than me."

Videl brow furrowed. "But you beat my dad, there's no way you got that much stronger in two years!"

"You misunderstand, I still couldn't beat Cell. Not then, not now." Kuririn said.

Videl still hadn't put it together. "But you beat my dad and dad beat Cell so obviously you're stronger!"

Kuririn stared at her for a moment with an uncomfortable look on his face. "You know, no one ever came forward saying they saw your dad win did they?"

"Wah!? Well, no but he said that he won so obviously . . ." Videl stopped and thought about what she was saying. "You don't mean . . ."

Kuririn nodded somberly. "Sorry, I really didn't want to say anything. The person who really beat cell values his privacy so we decided to let your father take the credit." He crossed his arms. "Personally I was against it. I think it would have been better to make it a mystery than let someone run away with the credit. But it wasn't my call to make."

Videl took in a breath. Anger, sadness, disappointment were clashing in her head. Lately her father had been unbearable. He refused to train her and spent all his time in front of the media or working out in private. And it all began when he came back from the cell games. As big of an ego as he seemed to have it was hard to believe he hadn't accomplished something. But the writing was on the wall. Cell's tricks weren't really tricks and there is no way her father could have beaten them.

Stupid old man. . .

Videl looked up at Kuririn, a few tears in her eyes. Despite that she looked him dead on. "Please, train me!"

* * *

Ch. 04 end

* * *

So time for a few notes: I adjusted the ages a little to better conform to the original manga. Despite what the dubs say, Gohan was 9 (physically 10) when he fought Cell, and Sixteen at the beginning of the Buu arc. Why the dub upped his age I don't know but it might have something to do with how violent the fight was.

That makes Gohan physically 11 at his point.

I know I am kind of throwing Mr. Satan under a bus but I feel it's necessary for Videl's development here.

Third: Kuririn's attack is looks like the times ten kamehameha but functions slightly differently as far as I can tell. When I came up with it I had actually forgotten 10 times kamehameha existed only to remember it later. Oh well.

Also I am sorry this has been long in coming but I've been working on several other projects which unfortunately take priority.

Once again I would like to thank everyone who reviewed or followed this. I am very humbled and gratified by some of the responses I've gotten. Please keep it up!

-Gedaemon


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